Famous birthdays, deaths and events of March 20
Birthdays
- 1469 - Princess Cecily of York, (d. 1507)
- 1477 - Jerome Emser, German theologian (d. 1527)
- 1502 - Pierino Belli, Italian soldier and jurist (d. 1575)
- 1644 - Ivan Mazepa, Cossack Hetman of the Hetmanate (d. 1709)
- 1725 - Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1789)
- 1735 - Torbern Bergman, Swedish chemist (d. 1784)
- 1737 - Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, King of Thailand (d. 1809)
- 1741 - Jean Antoine Houdon, French sculptor (d. 1828)
- 1770 - Friedrich Hölderlin, German writer (d. 1843)
- 1799 - Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet (d. 1839)
- 1811 - Napoleon II of France, (d. 1832)
- 1823 - Ned Buntline, American publisher (d. 1886)
- 1828 - Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian writer (d. 1906)
- 1831 - Solomon L. Spink, U.S. Congressman (d. 1881)
- 1834 - Charles W. Eliot, President of Harvard University (d. 1926)
- 1836 - Ferris Jacobs, Jr.
- 1836 - Sir Edward Poynter, British painter (d. 1919)
- 1840 - Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (d. 1894)
- 1856 - Sir John Lavery, Irish artist (d. 1941)
- 1856 - Frederick Winslow Taylor, American inventor (d. 1915)
- 1870 - Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (d. 1964)
- 1874 - Börries von Münchhausen, German poet (d. 1945)
- 1876 - Payne Whitney, American businessman (d. 1927)
- 1879 - Maud Menten, Canadian biochemist (d. 1960)
- 1882 - René Coty, French President (d.1962)
- 1890 - Beniamino Gigli, Italian tenor (d. 1957)
- 1890 - Lauritz Melchior, Danish tenor (d. 1973)
- 1895 - Fredric Wertham, German-born psychologist (d. 1981)
- 1897 - Ruby Muhammad, American matriarch of Black Islam
- 1903 - Edgar Buchanan, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1904 - B. F. Skinner, American psychologist (d. 1990)
- 1905 - Jean Galia, French rugby footballer (d. 1949)
- 1906 - Abraham Beame, American politician (d. 2001)
- 1906 - Ozzie Nelson, American bandleader and actor (d. 1975)
- 1908 - Michael Redgrave, English actor (d. 1985)
- 1911 - Alfonso García Robles, Mexican diplomat and Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
- 1914 - Wendell Corey, American actor (d. 1968)
- 1915 - Rudolf Kirchschläger, President of Austria (d. 2000)
- 1915 - Sviatoslav Richter, Soviet pianist (d. 1997)
- 1916 - Pierre Messmer, French politician and Prime Minister (d. 2007)
- 1917 - Vera Lynn, English actress and singer
- 1918 - Jack Barry, American TV host (d. 1984)
- 1918 - Donald Featherstone, British writer and wargamer
- 1918 - Marian McPartland, British jazz pianist
- 1920 - Pamela Harriman, British-American diplomat (d. 1997)
- 1921 - Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American singer (d. 1973)
- 1922 - Larry Elgart, American saxophonist and bandleader
- 1922 - Ray Goulding, American comedian (d. 1990)
- 1922 - Carl Reiner, American film director
- 1923 - Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani Author
- 1924 - Jozef Kroner, Slovak actor (d. 1998)
- 1925 - John Ehrlichman, American political figure (d. 1999)
- 1927 - John Joubert, South African-born British composer
- 1928 - Fred Rogers, American TV host (d. 2003)
- 1929 - Germán Robles, Spanish actor
- 1931 - Hal Linden, American actor
- 1933 - George Altman, American baseball player
- 1933 - Alexander Gorodnitsky, Russian geologist and poet
- 1934 - Willie Brown, American politician
- 1934 - David Malouf, Australian author
- 1935 - Ted Bessell, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1936 - Lee "Scratch" Perry, Jamaican Reggae artist
- 1936 - Vaughn Meader, American comedian (d. 2004)
- 1937 - Jerry Reed, American singer and actor
- 1938 - Sergei Petrovich Novikov, Russian Mathematician
- 1939 - Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada
- 1941 - Pat Corrales, American baseball player
- 1941 - Kenji Kimihara, Japanese long-distance runner
- 1943 - Gerard Malanga, American poet and photographer
- 1943 - Naima Neidre, Estonian graphic artist
- 1943 - Paul Junger Witt, American TV producer
- 1945 - Henry Bartholomay, American fighter pilot
- 1945 - Rick Berman, American TV and film producer
- 1945 - Jay Ingram, Canadian television host and author
- 1945 - Pat Riley, American basketball player and coach
- 1947 - John Boswell, American historian (d. 1994)
- 1948 - John de Lancie, American actor
- 1948 - Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1949 - Marcia Ball, American singer and pianist
- 1950 - William Hurt, American actor
- 1950 - Carl Palmer, English drummer (Emerson
- 1951 - Curt Smith, American author and media host
- 1951 - Jimmie Vaughan, American blues guitarist
- 1952 - Geoff Brabham, Australian racing driver
- 1954 - Mike Francesa, American sports talk show host
- 1954 - Liana Kanelli, Greek journalist and politician
- 1957 - Vanessa Bell Calloway, American actress
- 1957 - David Foster, Australian woodchopper
- 1957 - Spike Lee, American film director
- 1957 - Theresa Russell, American actress
- 1958 - Phil Anderson, Australian cyclist
- 1958 - Holly Hunter, American actress
- 1959 - Dave Beasant, English football goalkeeper
- 1959 - Steve McFadden, British actor
- 1959 - Sting, American professional wrestler
- 1961 - Jesper Olsen, Danish footballer
- 1961 - Slim Jim Phantom, American musician (Stray Cats)
- 1962 - Stephen Sommers, American film director
- 1963 - Paul Annacone, American tennis player
- 1963 - Yelena Romanova, Russian athlete (d. 2007)
- 1963 - Manabu Suzuki, Japanese racing driver and broadcaster
- 1963 - David Thewlis, British actor
- 1964 - Natacha Atlas, Belgian singer
- 1966 - Alka Yagnik, Indian singer
- 1967 - Mookie Blaylock, American basketball player
- 1969 - Caroline Brunet, Quebec kayaker
- 1969 - Mannie Fresh, American producer
- 1970 - Michael Rapaport, American actor
- 1971 - Manny Alexander, Dominican baseball player
- 1971 - Touré, American writer
- 1972 - Alexander Kapranos, Greek-British musician (Franz Ferdinand)
- 1973 - Christopher Heinz, American businessman; son of Teresa Heinz
- 1973 - Jane March, English actress
- 1973 - Jung Woo-sung, South Korean actor
- 1973 - Cedric Yarbrough, American actor
- 1974 - Paula Garces, Colombian actress
- 1974 - Andrzej Pilipiuk, Polish writer
- 1976 - Chester Bennington, American musician (Linkin Park)
- 1979 - Silvia Abascal, Spanish actress
- 1979 - Freema Agyeman, British actress
- 1979 - Bianca Lawson, American actress
- 1979 - Keven Mealamu, New Zealand rugby player
- 1979 - Bernard O'Connor, Gaelic Footballer
- 1979 - Molly Jenson, American musician
- 1980 - Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
- 1980 - Ock Ju-Hyun, South Korean singer
- 1982 - Terrence Duffin, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1982 - Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish footballer
- 1982 - Nick Wheeler, American guitarist (The All-American Rejects)
- 1982 - José Moreira, Portuguese footballer
- 1984 - Justine Ezarik, American Internet personality
- 1984 - Valtteri Filppula, Finnish professional ice-hockey player
- 1984 - Rami Malek, Egyptian-born actor
- 1984 - Markus Niemelä, Finnish racing driver
- 1984 - Christy Carlson Romano, American actress
- 1984 - Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer
- 1984 - Marcus Vick, American football player
- 1984 - Winta, Norwegian musician
- 1986 - Dean Geyer, Australian singer/actor
- 1986 - Ruby Rose Langenheim, Australian MTV VJ
- 1987 - Daniel Maa Boumsong, Cameroonian football player
- 1987 - Patrick Boyle, Scottish footballer
- 1987 - Pedro Ken, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 - Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarusian hockey player
- 1987 - Jô, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 - Rollo Weeks, English actor
- 1989 - Tamim Iqbal, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1990 - Joaquin Maria Gutierrez, Filipino violinist
Deaths
- 687 - St. Cuthbert, patron saint of Northumbria (b. c. 634).
- 1239 - Hermann von Salza, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (c. 1179)
- 1413 - King Henry IV of England, (b. 1367)
- 1549 - Lord High Admiral Thomas Seymour, 4th. husband of Queen Catherine Parr (executed) (b. 1508)
- 1568 - Duke Albert of Prussia, (b. 1490)
- 1586 - Richard Maitland, Scottish statesman and historian (b. 1496)
- 1619 - Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1557)
- 1673 - Augustyn Kordecki, Polish prior (b. 1603)
- 1730 - Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (b. 1692)
- 1732 - Johann Ernst Hanxleden, German philologist (b. 1681)
- 1746 - Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (b. 1656)
- 1780 - Sir Benjamin Truman,
- 1793 - William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield
- 1835 - Louis-Leopold Robert, French painter (b. 1794)
- 1855 - Joseph Aspdin, English mason and inventor (b. 1788)
- 1865 - Keisuke Yamanami, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
- 1874 - Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer (b. 1810)
- 1878 - Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (b. 1814)
- 1890 - Alexander F. Mozhaiski, aviation pioneer (b. 1825)
- 1897 - Apollon Maykov, Russian poet (b. 1821)
- 1899 - Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist (b. 1822)
- 1916 - Ota Benga, Congolese pygmy (b. 1884)
- 1918 - Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War General (b. 1828)
- 1925 - George Nathaniel Curzon, British statesman (b. 1859)
- 1929 - Ferdinand Foch, French commander of allied forces in World War I (b. 1851)
- 1931 - Hermann Müller, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
- 1934 - Queen Emma of the Netherlands, (b. 1858)
- 1940 - Alfred Ploetz, German physician
- 1947 - Sigurd Wallén, Swedish actor and filmdirector (b. 1884)
- 1964 - Brendan Behan, Irish playwright and author (b. 1923)
- 1969 - Henri Longchambon, French politician (b. 1896)
- 1970 - Manolis Chiotis, Greek bouzouki virtuoso and song writer (b. 1920)
- 1972 - Marilyn Maxwell, American actress (b. 1921)
- 1974 - Chet Huntley, American television journalist (b. 1911)
- 1982 - Randy Rhoads, American guitarist for Ozzy osbourne and Ex Quiet Riot guitarist (b. 1956)
- 1983 - Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, Russian mathematician (b. 1891)
- 1990 - Lev Yashin, Soviet footballer (b. 1929)
- 1991 - Conor Clapton, son of Eric Clapton (b. 1986)
- 1992 - Georges Delerue, French film composer (b. 1925)
- 1993 - Polykarp Kusch, German-born American physicist
- 1994 - Lewis Grizzard, American humorist (b. 1946)
- 1995 - Big John Studd, American professional wrestler (b. 1948)
- 1997 - Tony Zale, American boxer (b. 1913)
- 1998 - George Howard, American jazz saxophone musician
- 2000 - Gene Eugene, Canadian actor and singer (b. 1961)
- 2001 - Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican baseball player (b. 1949)
- 2003 - Sailor Art Thomas, American professional wrestler (b. 1924)
- 2004 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, (b. 1909)
- 2004 - Pierre Sévigny, Canadian military officer and politician (b. 1917)
- 2005 - Armand Lohikoski, Finnish film director (b. 1912)
- 2007 - Gilbert E. Patterson, presiding bishop of COGIC (b. 1939)
- 2007 - Taha Yassin Ramadan, Iraqi politician (b. 1938)
- 2007 - Hawa Yakubu, Ghanaian politician (b. 1948)
- 2008 - Eric Ashton, English rugby league footballer (b. 1935)
- 2008 - Shoban Babu, Indian actor (b. 1937)
- 2008 - Brian Wilde, English actor (b. 1921)
- 2008 - Klaus Dinger, German Musician (b. 1946)
- 2009 - George Weber, 47, American radio broadcaster, stabbed.
- 2009 - Vladimir Sav?i?, 60, Serbian singer, cancer.
- 2009 - Jaroslav Pitner, 83, Czech ice hockey coach.
- 2009 - Abdellatif Filali, 81, Moroccan politician, Prime Minister (1994–1998).
- 2009 - Mel Brown, 69, American blues guitarist, emphysema.
- 2009 - Roberta Alison, 65, American tennis player.
Events
- 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden.
- 1602 - The Dutch East India Company is established.
- 1616 - Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment.
- 1739 - Nadir Shah occupies Delhi in India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne.
- 1760 - The "Great Fire" of Boston, Massachusetts destroys 349 buildings.
- 1815 - After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule.
- 1848 - Revolutions of 1848 in the German states: King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates.
- 1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is published.
- 1856 - Costa Rican troops rout Walker's soldiers.
- 1861 - An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina.
- 1883 - The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is signed.
- 1888 - The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta was staged in Moscow, Russia.
- 1913 - Sung Chiao-jen, a founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party, is wounded in an assassination attempt and dies 2 days later.
- 1914 - In New Haven, Connecticut, the first international figure skating championship takes place.
- 1916 - Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity.
- 1922 - The USS Langley is commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier.
- 1933 - Giuseppe Zangara is executed in Florida's electric chair for fatally shooting Anton Cermak in an assassination attempt against President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1942 - World War II: In Zgierz, Poland, 100 Poles are taken from a labor camp and shot by the Germans.
- 1942 - Holocaust: in Rohatyn, western Ukraine, the German SS murder 3,000 Jews, including 600 children, annihilating 70% of Rohatyn's Jewish ghetto.
- 1942 - World War II: General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: "I came out of Bataan and I shall return".
- 1948 - With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC.
- 1951 - Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshû is founded.
- 1952 - The United States Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Japan.
- 1956 - Tunisia gains independence from France.
- 1964 - The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.
- 1969 - John Lennon and Yoko ono were married.
- 1974 - Ian Ball attempts, but fails, to kidnap Her Royal Highness Princess Anne and her husband Captain Mark Phillips in The Mall, outside Buckingham Palace, London.
- 1980 - The Radio Caroline ship, Mi Amigo founders in a gale off the English coast.
- 1985 - Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
- 1987 - The Food and Drug Administration approves the anti-AIDS drug, AZT.
- 1988 - Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.
- 1990 - Ferdinand Marcos's widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
- 1993 - An IRA bomb explodes in Warrington, northwest England, killing two children.
- 1999 - Legoland California, the first and only Legoland outside of Europe, opens in Carlsbad, California.
- 2000 - Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured after a gun battle that leaves a Georgia sheriff's deputy dead.
- 2003 - 2003 invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries begin military operations in Iraq.
- 2004 - Stephen Harper wins the leadership of the newly created Conservative Party of Canada, becoming the party's first leader.
- 2005 - A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits Fukuoka, Japan, its first major quake in over 100 years. One person is killed, hundreds are injured and evacuated.
- 2006 - Cyclone Larry makes landfall in eastern Australia, destroying most of the country's banana crop.
- 2006 - Over 150 Chadian soldiers are killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The rebel movement sought to overthrow Chadian president Idriss Deby.
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